Endless War Has Been Normalized And Everyone Is Crazy

Since I last wrote about the bipartisan shrieking, hysterical reaction to Trump’s planned military withdrawal from Syria the other day, it hasn’t gotten better, it’s gotten worse. I’m having a hard time even picking out individual bits of the collective freakout from the political/media class to point at, because doing so would diminish the frenetic white noise of the paranoid, conspiratorial, fearmongering establishment reaction to the possibility of a few thousands troops being pulled back from a territory they were illegally occupying.

Endless war and military expansionism has become so normalized in establishment thought that even a slight scale-down is treated as something abnormal and shocking. The talking heads of the corporate state media had been almost entirely ignoring the buildup of US troops in Syria and the operations they’ve been carrying out there, but as soon as the possibility of those troops leaving emerged, all the alarm bells started ringing. Endless war was considered so normal that nobody ever talked about it, then Trump tweeted he’s bringing the troops home, and now every armchair liberal in America who had no idea what a Kurd was until five minutes ago is suddenly an expert on Erdoğan and the YPG. Lindsey Graham, who has never met an unaccountable US military occupation he didn’t like, is now suddenly cheerleading for congressional oversight: not for sending troops into wars, but for pulling them out.

“I would urge my colleagues in the Senate and the House, call people from the administration and explain this policy,” Graham recently told reporters on Capitol Hill. “This is the role of the Congress, to make administrations explain their policy, not in a tweet, but before Congress answering questions.”

In an even marginally sane world, the fact that a nation’s armed forces are engaged in daily military violence would be cause for shock and alarm, and pulling those forces out of that situation would be viewed as a return to normalcy. Instead we are seeing the exact opposite. In an even marginally sane world, congressional oversight would be required to send the US military to invade countries and commit acts of war, because that act, not withdrawing them, is what’s abnormal. Instead we are seeing the exact opposite.

A hypothetical space alien observing our civilization for the first time would conclude that we are insane, and that hypothetical space alien would be absolutely correct. Have some Reese’s Pieces, hypothetical space alien.

It is absolutely bat shit crazy that we feel normal about the most powerful military force in the history of civilization running around the world invading and occupying and bombing and killing, yet are made to feel weird about the possibility of any part of that ending. It is absolutely bat shit crazy that endless war is normalized while the possibility of peace and respecting national sovereignty to any extent is aggressively abnormalized. In a sane world the exact opposite would be true, but in our world this self-evident fact has been obscured. In a sane world anyone who tried to convince you that war is normal would be rejected and shunned, but in our world those people make six million dollars a year reading from a teleprompter on MSNBC.

How did this happen to us? How did we get so crazy and confused?

I sometimes hear the analogy of sleepwalking used; people are sleepwalking through life, so they believe the things the TV tells them to believe, and this turns them into a bunch of mindless zombies marching to the beat of CIA/CNN narratives and consenting to unlimited military bloodbaths around the world. I don’t think this is necessarily a useful way of thinking about our situation and our fellow citizens. I think a much more useful way of looking at our plight is to retrace our steps and think about how everyone got to where they’re at as individuals.

Society Is Made Of Narrative. Realizing This Is Awakening From The Matrix.

We come into this world screaming and clueless, and it doesn’t generally get much better from there. We look around and we see a bunch of grownups moving confidently around us, and they sure look like they know what’s going on. So we listen real attentively to what they’re telling us about our world and how it works, not realizing that they’re just repeating the same things grownups told them when they were little, and not realizing that if any of those grownups were really honest with themselves they’re just moving learned concepts around inside a headspace that’s just as clueless about life’s big questions as the day it was born.

And that’s just early childhood. Once you move out of that and start learning about politics, philosophy, religion etc as you get bigger, you run into a whole bunch of clever faces who’ve figured out how to use your cluelessness about life to their advantage. You stumble toward adulthood without knowing what’s going on, and then confident-sounding people show up and say “Oh hey I know what’s going on. Follow me.” And before you know it you’re donating ten percent of your income to some church, addicted to drugs, in an abusive relationship, building your life around ideas from old books which were promoted by dead kings to the advantage of the powerful, or getting your information about the world from Fox News.

For most people life is like stumbling around in a dark room you have no idea how you got into, without even knowing what you’re looking for. Then as you’re reaching around in the darkness your hand is grasped by someone else’s hand, and it says in a confident-sounding voice, “I know where to go. Come with me.” The owner of the other hand doesn’t know any more about the room than you do really, they just know how to feign confidence. And it just so happens that most of those hands in the darkness are actually leading you in the service of the powerful.

Life Secrets

"When it comes to the big questions, what life is all about and what’s really going on here, everyone else is exactly as clueless as you are. The only difference is that some people are better at feigning confidence than others."https://t.co/Kn986xcea3

That’s all mainstream narratives are: hands reaching out in the darkness of a confusing world, speaking in confident-sounding voices and guiding you in a direction which benefits the powerful. The largest voices belong to the rich and the powerful, which means those are the hands you’re most likely to encounter when stumbling around in the darkness. You go to school which is designed to indoctrinate you into mainstream narratives, you consume media which is designed to do the same, and most people find themselves led from hand to hand in this way all the way to the grave.

That’s really all everyone’s doing here, reaching out in the darkness of a confusing world and trying to find our way to the truth. It’s messy as hell and there are so many confident-sounding voices calling out to us giving us false directions about where to go, and lots of people get lost to the grabbing hands of power-serving narratives. But the more of us who learn to see through the dominant narratives and discover the underlying truths, the more hands there are to guide others away from the interests of the powerful and toward a sane society. A society in which people abhor war and embrace peace, in which people collaborate with each other and their environment, in which people overcome the challenges facing our species and create a beautiful world together.

People aren’t sleepwalking, they are being duped. Duped into insanity in a confusing, abrasive world where it’s hard enough just to get your legs underneath you and figure out which way’s up, let alone come to a conscious truth-based understanding of what’s really going on in the world. But the people doing the duping are having a hard time holding onto everyone’s hand, and their grip is slipping. We’ll find our way out of this dark room yet.

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Jared/December 31, 2018

There is another side of our government domination of the population (un-populism):

While in the open they control our understanding of national and global affairs through censorship, collusion and propaganda, on the individual level they use bullying – certain agencies can do as they wish without fear of repercussions from legal system and they make sure that we know this. The: “What are you going to do about it?”.

JARED/December 28, 2018

“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” And on “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver famously said, “If you want to do something evil, put it inside something boring.”

Every society’s memory is continuously being rewritten on the fly by the people at the top so that it better serves their needs.

I think that is a great problem. I read many enlightening and insiteful comments but it is all a river flowing over a dam my memory is short.

I believe it can all be explained by human nature. Animals scrambling to better thier own position. Large government structures reinforce the inhuman nature of it. To read the quotes Mattis is an almost inhuman jerk.

Jared/December 26, 2018

Ishkabibble/December 25, 2018

“The Essence of Control Is Its Concealment”https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-25/essence-control-its-concealment .. Part of the above: “………….. This really isn’t that hard to accomplish if 1) you control (via taxes, subsidies and mandated curriculum) the education system; 2) the society is continuously conditioned and indoctrinated into a unifying and benevolent creation myth which includes righteous superiority memes and rewards for submissive compliance (aka the carrot) while 3) significant resources are devoted to overt and covert authoritarian control structures (aka the stick) all in the name of supporting and protecting items 1+2. …………”

Harry s Nydick/December 24, 2018

It’s really quite simple. The wealthy and powerful control the government, the politicians and nearly everything else of significance. Since their primary desires are to be come even wealthier and more powerful, they demand war. Only when what is happening around the world becomes so heinous, do they support the end of one of their many simultaneous and illegal wars – and only because it will soon be replaced by another that will gain little media attention until it too become too extreme. The process generally takes quite a few years before cessation. There are those of us that ignore those voices; we have learned to think for ourselves. the only remaining question is whether or not we will live long enough to convince enough others to step out of the darkness, into the light and to rise up and take action. That is, in the end why I see only two options. Either the U.S. will continue its slide into full-blown totalitarianism, or there will be one more giant war not sponsored by the oligarchs, but a second U.S. revolution for independence directed to taking down the sources of power.

Cam/December 24, 2018

Is there a more disastrous omen for the imminent enslavement of humanity under the global dictatorship of an Orwellian dystopia than the terminal naivety of generations of unwitting dupes of the existing order, one of whom happens to be Caitlin Johnstone, vigilantly rushing to the defense of our abusers by subjecting anyone who dares to utter the name of our high priests of endless of wars for profit, international banking fraud, presidential assassinations and false flag terrorism to a vicious smear campaign of vitriolic hate? Everyone is crazy because it’s a hate crime to utter the name of our oppressors.

garys/December 24, 2018

And yes one other important bit of administrative work before the year ends–I hope all of you good god-fearing people have signed the Israel Loyalty Law which is currently in effect in 29 states– with 15 more in the process of approving–you need to sign this pledge if you expect to work in any kind of public employment–listen to Chris Hedges explain the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7t07EoHWbo&app=desktop

But please don’t let me interrupt all of your great theories about what’s going in the world–you know how it is–life is 90% maintenance–and we want to do the right thing when it comes to this invaluable ally.

garys/December 24, 2018

I’ve just read all the comments–you are all discussing the same issue–sometimes form opposite sides of the coin–but certainly within the allowed parameters–no wonder the so-called deep state operates with such impunity–you people–who are probably much more informed than the average Joe–don’t have a clue–let me keep it simple for you–and can do your own research to see if I am correct: It’s the Zionist Jews–stupid.

Pick any region or country with past/present or future problems–name the region–and ask [google]– “do or have or will the Jews control: Mexico, China, Brazil, India, Argentina, Greece, France, Germany, Palestine, Russia, etc..”

Henry Ford called the Jew “Internationalists” for a reason–their business interests and the resultant Sayanim have infiltrated the Globe–but of course you are not suppose to know that–and therefore you don’t. As far “who benefits” within the vast chaos and destruction–they feel as if they do– because they greatly fear the Goy and while at the same time allege that the Goy is only here to serve them.

Once they get the robots on line [read Kurzweil’s “How to Create a Mind”– reverse engineering the human brain] there will be no need for the Gentile: So live it up while you can sheeple–you don’t have that much time.

“In an even marginally sane world, the fact that a nation’s armed forces are engaged in daily military violence would be cause for shock and alarm, and pulling those forces out of that situation would be viewed as a return to normalcy. Instead we are seeing the exact opposite.”

In other words, here’s the opposite of ‘progressive’. But, hopefully, Those who find the lovers of war (as peace) to be going in the wrong direction aren’t, themselves, following. The Christian Bible urges people to self-examine. It’s good advice.

What is a progressive? The question engages me. I don’t fit into either the Left camp or the Right camp. I don’t and don’t want to fit into the rightwing camp. That camp is simply evil. I have issues with the leftwing camp, but there’s much there that I find attractive. And, as a human being, it’s nice to have friends, which I need and want, like everyone. But I won’t have them at the expense of my principles, although words are always easy.

I believe in democracy, but not the way that most leftwingers, who reject God (unless he is humankind), do. Lots of things about democracy – fairness, compassion, absence of racism – is Godly. But democracy as most people know it, is not our final destination. How do I know? We are all imperfect. The best leaders (Do we need ‘leaders’?) that progressives can bring to power do not come with a guarantee. They can’t free themselves from the imperfection that we all possess, which we inherited from our first human parents (which anti-God leftists choose to disbelieve). And none of us can free ourselves from the imperfection that leads to all kinds of folly, including serious folly and folly that isn’t so serious. Beyond that problem lies a solution that the haughty, Right and Left, reject, namely a Creator, who is the Source of life and can’t apply the value of Christ’s sacrifice to loyal followers and raise them to the perfection that was meant for us. That is to say, There is such a thing as human perfection. Humans were designed by a perfect Being and have, therefore, their own perfection, according to that design. We chose to learn the hard lesson of independence from the Source of life, who built designed humans to be children in a family that included God.

John Perkins (who I have issues with) writes in his (very flawed) updated “Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man,” about his friend (former?) Rafael Correa, who defended progressives, including those who wanted to protect the Amazon and keep oil company predators out of Ecuador, until he changed his mind and attacked them. Nicolas Maduro has done nothing but show solidarity with his people, but, reportedly, has changed his mind and will now issue a national ID card plus, designed in China and enabling the State to punish those with the ‘wrong’ political ideas.( And I really, really hope that there’s more to this story. I hope that the reports I’ve read are simply not telling us everything. But there’s a point to be made here. If it isn’t true, it ‘could’ be.) I also remember Paul Magnette of Wallonia, who held up the European ratification (or acceptance in some fashion) of the pernicious CETA free trade deal (between Canada and Europe), until he simply up and changed his mind.

I consider myself a progressive (but don’t agree with certain leftwing positions and beliefs that both the Left and Right hold about how life arrived on earth) and I will never urge people to view the election of imperfect human beings to political office who can one day, out of the blue (more or less) up and decide to switch sides, leaving the democratic camp for the evil camp, as the final destination of all our activism. There will be no possibility of new heavens (government) under human rulership that is not free the infection of imperfection which WE can’t cure.

wapiti/December 23, 2018

Anyone who has followed Maddow’s rise in MSM should find her path very. very interesting. She was presented by MSM’s MSNBC as both liberal and gay. The ‘gay’ tag was frequently highlighted to make her trusted as a true, honest liberal. As she progresed on MSNBC her pro-war and pro-big government and pro- MIC stance slowly and surely increased. But her gay and liberal front always was spoon fed to her viewers. If you do not look at her photo, if you do not read about her as the person, if you were to simply listen to an automated voice neither male nor female, this woman is a powerful voice of the corporate, elite, Rockefellers MIC. In the very early days of her show I liked Maddow’s last 5 minute segment where she would build little known alcoholic drinks, share the ingrediants and end her show sipping the concoction. Now I see her as far more dangerous than Hannity and Dobbs.

Stephen Sadd/December 23, 2018

This is a point worth noting! “So when you hear the American and NATO leaders speak of Russia and China as “revisionist” know what they mean: that Russia and China are still independent of WORLD TYRANNY, that they resist. This then is what “revisionism” means, American style; resistance to the American world order.https://journal-neo.org/2018/12/22/revisionism-american-style/

Orlando J. Valerino/December 22, 2018

For decades, a so-called anti-propaganda law prevented the U.S. government’s mammoth broadcasting arm from delivering programming to American audiences. But on July 2 [2014], that came silently to an end with the implementation of a new reform passed in January. The result: an unleashing of thousands of hours per week of government-funded radio and TV programs …

Orlando J. Valerino/December 22, 2018

Carolyn Zaremba/December 22, 2018

Right on, Caitlin! You are one of the few voices of sanity in the maelstrom of mass hysteria on the part of the so-called “progressives”. The only other rational voices come from The World Socialist Seb Site and from Chris Hedges. The reason I got rid of my television 7 years ago was to stop the insanity of the government propaganda machines from leaking into my household. You, on the other hand, are welcome here any time. Bravo!

Carolyn Zaremba/December 22, 2018

Orlando J. Valerino/December 22, 2018

wapiti/December 23, 2018

Prob ought to do some homework on that quote. Consensus of top rated investigative sites agree there is no truth Colby actually uttered that phrase. That said, I believe our MSM geniflects to the huge hands that feed them: the MIC, big pharma, agriculture and the other powerful cults that control the globe. Maddow and Hannity (using them just to represent the hundreds of other biased MSM personalities) are on the same ship – just at opposite ends of the hull. They are willingly spoon fed and regurgitate accordingly. The more negative emotion they can build the higher go their “ratings”. And the higher their “ratings” the larger their paychecks. rinse, repeat. Dangle a carrot of power, recognition and money and they continue speaking for their masters.

Maxim Gorki/December 22, 2018

seydlitz89/December 22, 2018

The Cheneyites are afraid of losing control of the narrative, if the withdrawal from Syria actually takes place and the Russians/Syrian/Iranians wipe out what’s left of ISIS and Al Qaida in Syria, what exactly could they find . . . ? What would that indicate regarding what we have been told over the last 20 odd years . . . ?

vincent/December 22, 2018

The narrative you talk about being controlled is done so that the pros and cons of public/private finance are never discussed and further most are brainwashed into believing that global finance is public instead of the private jackboot that is never discussed in polite company.

Private finance is the ring of faith that binds all the monotheistic religions to never question their existence. Faith over reason never quite made it out of the Enlightenment period, I wonder why?

I’m religious and I can tell you that I do not believe in money systems. Period. I don’t believe in money. Money works in a system in which inequality rules. The only reason for money is so that some can have more of it, and more of what they believe it can buy, than others.

roy/December 22, 2018

klaus von berlin/December 22, 2018

This evil transformation of the species is the result of propaganda. Many folks don’t own their own minds ,lost our ability to think independently and destroy our home here on earth for the love of money.

Propaganda, of course, plays a role. But everyone has some responsible to know. There’s no law that can be passed, and shouldn’t be, saying that we have to care. And caring is knowing. And, note, you don’t need to know like a scholar. You need to know enough to know what to think, or what direction to move in.

Propaganda is what anyone who lies pushes. You don’t have to be pro Corporatocracy or pro establishment in order to push propaganda.

The world – too many, including victims of neoliberalism/neoconservatism – is mentally and spiritually ruined. Like vampires, the ruined just go on to make other ruined people (their kids, their friends and others), for, at this time, that is allowed.

Hold on to your humanity. You don’t have to be perfect in order to be able to do so. The end result of that choice is that you will find yourself, increasingly, within a smaller circle of like-minded people as the darkness (before the dawn) closes in. You can sell your soul at any time and, hopefully (no guarantees) that will ease the pressure and maybe even prosper. But what if you do that, if you invest your soul (all your eggs) in this temporary system of things, then, when it goes…

Iskabibble/December 22, 2018

There have been forensic analyses performed after WW1, WW2, Korean War and Vietnam War, which were intended to figure out why those wars came to be so that such wars could be prevented in the future. WW1 was “the war to end all war”, but it wasn’t. It was the first half of WW2 in which the so-called allies included Russia. In just a few short years after the end of WW2, Russia was an enemy of “the west” — nations who were colonial powers who required colonies to fork over their resources and products. Vietnam was handed back over to France and the Vietnamese struggle against its colonial rulers shifted into high gear to finally defeat not only the French, but “America” as well. .. The people of the US today are not able to face what their nation really is because of the 24/7 brainwashing they are subjected to from Day 1 of their existence. They and their government are so convinced that they should be the exceptional nation to “lead” the world that they do not realize that they are behaving in a way that is going to INEVITABLY lead to a nuclear war. The MSM talking heads may not realize it, but they are preparing their audiences to not only accept war, but to DEMAND it. They are the cheerleaders for the upcoming war. .. The Elite now realize that they are going to LOSE the capitalism competition to Russia and China which is why the US is using tariffs and sanctions to try to delay its inevitable defeat. They’re desperate. They need a war to give their investments in war coporations the profit they require, or there’s going to be yet another “financial crisis” which, this time, the Fed will not be able to print its way out of. Here’s the conversation taking place in Washington today.

Iskabibble, these wars are land grabs and nuclear weapons were not used. Look at the photo and video evidence and compare Hiroshima to Dresden, as one example. The military is being used by the elites of all these countries to steal land and resources from the ‘under’ classes. Nationalities, religions, races have nothing to do with it except as rallying points for the brainwashed folks who fight for them. Pearl Harbor was a false flag, as was 9/11.

Carolyn Zaremba/December 22, 2018

Sionna/December 22, 2018

Jeremy Scahill had a good few points about it on twitter. Apparently suspects that Trump isn’t planning on doing anything other than taking out US military, probably replacing them with Eric Prince’s forces.

Random Castagna/December 22, 2018

Trump certainly doesn’t give a shit about protecting American Troops, Kurds, or anyone else. What he is doing is all about appeasing his white trash base so he can get that stupid wall built, and he can get re-elected. If he had another way to get his wall funded, he would do that, because he is pissing off his corporate masters and probably is not very comfortable with that.

inforebelscum/January 2, 2019

ROD SANDERS/December 22, 2018

Random, Caitlin’s post was not about the wall. In addition, he certainly is less concerned with “corporate masters” than just about any politician in DC. I’m afraid you’ve contracted TDS. There is no cure but education can help. Try it.

wapiti/December 23, 2018

Ahhhh.. so I presume you have sat down with and visited with Trump face to face discussing his views on his decision to leave Syria? If not then I suggest you are victim to the MSM mass that Caitlin is disussing in this article.

Random castagna/December 23, 2018

flow/December 23, 2018

ROD SANDERS/December 22, 2018

It’s more about Trump than it is about the military. Obama wanted to stop the madness too. He couldn’t stand up to them. Trump does. Too bad TDS is at epidemic proportions nowadays. Too bad the money Americans throw at stupid military involvements around the globe could be put to far better use in the western hemisphere doing all kinds of smart things. Leftists were for reducing our military footprint until Trump. TDS is real. It makes people stupid.

wapiti/December 23, 2018

The last months of Trumps first term may get even more interesting. If the man decides to not run for a second term I believe he will even more rapidly begin pulling the rugs from beneath the heavy hooves of our MIC.

ROD SANDERS/December 23, 2018

Gary Clevenger/December 22, 2018

How about that… or this, send in some peace corps with aid to help people overcome hunger and ignorance… only guns needed would be those to protect the peace! ***** # Now we would have 5 Star peace generals and support against genocide…………………………………

You had me until you started Bible-bashing. Had you bothered to carefully read what you’re attacking, you’d realize the Old and New Testaments are completely ANTI-royal, ANTI-elite, ANTI-wealthy, ANTI-powerful. For someone as clearly educated as you, you’re doing the very same you accuse the media of doing: not checking their facts. Please educate yourself before spouting anti-Christian drivel, and educating doesn’t mean Dawkins echo chambers or the like. There’s a lot of fantastic, intelligent material on the subject that is well worth the time to read and study. If you’re interested, drop me a line and I’ll send you a list.

I agree with you about the anti-royal. Which is why I find critics’ analysis of Romans chapter 13 to be meritorious. Jesus Christ told his disciples to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. That certainly wasn’t an example of Jesus elevating Caesar to the position of divinely-approved. And yet, Paul moves into that territory, disappointingly.

I believe in the Christian Bible (‘Christian’ because there’s more than one type of Bible in the world) and believe that it’s inspired, but I do not believe that it is perfect. Paul’s words about the authorities be put there by God could be an example of corruption, an unauthorized add on.

But it’s like progressive media vs establishment media. When I talk to newbies about progressivism etc, and they ask “Where do I begin?,” I give what I believe is the only reasonable answer: If you don’t use guides – I didn’t because I had none and didn’t know a single thing about alt media other than there was one, once I came across the phrase or something – then jump in. But don’t do nothing. If YOU are good, principled and care, then, without know a damn thing, eventually, if you’re trying to educate yourself, you will get a sense of which direction to move in, who to trust and so forth. Eventually you’ll find enlightenment, even if it’s not (right away) perfect enlightenment.

Rick/January 12, 2019

I completely agree with you on this point. Thanks for making it. I read some other comments about your comment and it’s disappointing to see how few people understand what The Bible is telling us. It is an endless book of examples of how man screws up every time, creates all his own problems and can not solve them on his own but only with God. And yes God may appoint leaders. But again the same point is made that leaders being human will never lead perfectly and is ultimately the proof that we need God himself to be our leader and King, Both now through his Holy Spirit guiding us and ultimately when Christ returns. That was the whole point of the Old Testament where the Israelites told God they wanted a king and they no longer wanted God to lead them and look what happened to Israel and the Jews as a result of it. At the end of the day we need God to lead us and all of the crap that we have been talking about and thats happening all over the world with propaganda wars Xcetera will end completely when God is ruling. And finally we will all know what truth is and there will be no such thing as lies and deception and Propaganda.

Thundaga/December 22, 2018

The only time Representatives and Senators are so animated about foreign policy is when they want to restrict the Commander-in-Chief from doing something that’s actually good — when the Commander in Chief wants to engage in war, the same Representatives and Senators are like, “Yeah, whatever. Do what you want.”

I believe it was one of McCain’s final acts–before he went to Neocon hell–to sponsor a bill that would require the President to get Congressional approval to withdraw troops out of South Korea. Yes, they actually tied his hands in REMOVING troops; nevermind approval to send troops there. It makes my blood boil.

Tweets

Supporting a "moderate" Democratic Party while the Republican Party pushes as far to the right as it possibly can on every issue is guaranteeing a continuous overall movement to the right, which is why the gains made by the left in the early 20th century are almost gone now.

"And ironically, years ago, when I first got into the FBI, one of the missions of the FBI in its counterintelligence efforts was to try and keep these people out of government." https://t.co/fh4ePI0j3B

Here's an Israeli government official calling Michelle Alexander's column in the NYT about Palestinian rights, based on MLK's philosophy, a "strategic threat," and warns that Israel will "treat it as such." How will Israel treat Alexander's column as a "strategic threat"? Creepy

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"NewsGuard is led by some of the most virulently pro-imperialist individuals in America and its agenda to shore up narrative control for the ruling power establishment is clear, writes Caitlin Johnstone."

NewsGuard is led by some of the most virulently pro-imperialist individuals in America and its agenda to shore up narrative control for the ruling power establishment is clear, writes Caitlin Johnstone. By Caitlin Johnstone CaitlinJohnstone.com The frenzied, hysterical Russia narrative being prom ... See more

Excerpt from "Fight The Establishment’s Narratives By Getting Clear On Your Own":

Anti-establishment movements are a mess. Whether they’re left-wing or right-wing, whether they’re statist or anarchist, whether they’re organized or decentralized, whether they place emphasis on official or unofficial narratives, any circle of people who are interested in opposing the status quo on a deep, meaningful level almost invariably find themselves significantly bogged down by confusion, paranoia, infighting, and misdirected use of energy.

Every day, for example, I get people in my inbox and social media notifications telling me I shouldn’t quote or share anything from this or that lefty journalist or anti-establishment figure because they’ve said something “problematic” at some point or have some kind of association with some aspect of the establishment. Rather than simply using narrative-disrupting tools wherever they come from to fight the establishment narrative control machine, I’m encouraged to isolate myself to the extremely narrow spectrum of voices which agree with my exact worldview perfectly. This kind of paranoid, self-cannibalizing mentality is rife throughout most anti-establishment circles.

This happens for a number of reasons, including the fact that the ruling power establishment will infiltrate dissident movements that it perceives as a threat with the intent of sowing confusion and division. But the underlying reason anti-establishment circles so often find themselves getting crushed by their own weight is ultimately because life itself is confusing and difficult to understand.

Hardly anyone holds a lucid and steady awareness of just how much of society is comprised of mental narrative. Most people live their lives under the unquestioned assumption that when they are moving around in the world, speaking, acting, forming opinions, having ideas etc, they are interacting with something that resembles objective reality. The truth of the matter is that most of the things which draw people’s attention in their day-to-day experience, whether it’s names, titles, news stories, political parties, economics, history, philosophy, religion or what have you, consist entirely of mental noises firing off inside human skulls.

Excerpt from "Fight The Establishment’s Narratives By Getting Clear On Your Own":

You might think it’s a big jump to go from chatting about the sociopolitical dynamics within dissident movements to making vaguely Buddhist-sounding observations about human thought, but it’s really not. The reason our species is in a mess right now, and thus the reason movements exist which seek to change the status quo, is because so much of life is dictated entirely by made-up mental narratives which can be easily controlled by the powerful, and hardly anyone fully grasps this. If they did, the revolution against the establishment would very smoothly and quickly succeed.

Scientific research has found that astronauts suffer problems with coordination, perception and cognition when they are unable to determine which way is up in space. There is no “up” or “down” when you’re outside the gravitational pull that our bodies are adapted to, so its absence sends our whole system out of whack. Navigating a society that is made of mental narrative is very much the same; if you don’t know which way’s up, you’ll get lost and confused. Before you can see the narrative matrix clearly, you might be aware that some narratives serve power and swat at them while you’re spinning through space, but you won’t have any solid ground on which to orient yourself for the purpose of forming a clear path forward toward a healthy and harmonious world.

Your first and foremost task as a revolutionary, therefore, is to find solid ground on which to plant your feet while operating within a swirling sea of narratives and counter-narratives. Without this you’ll find yourself expending energy on ineffectual agendas, chasing shadows, attacking friends and advancing the interests of the enemy as you stumble around trying to fight a threat you can’t even see clearly. You’ve got to figure out for yourself which way’s up.